This was a bit of a conundrum for two main reasons: 1) I didn't have that many G tunes (my tune list has always been A and D heavy) but I had more tunings for this key than any other; 2) If a jam I was playing in "went to G" I was all over the place in my tuning between tunes. Also, I was a little undecided about which tuning to try playing new tunes in (though my default, like most people's, was Open G).

I decided it was time for a change and I made a goal to consolidate my tunes into a single tuning; eventually, I settled on (mostly) putting my tunes in Old G. I realize that this is a bit of a weird move, but I thought I'd use this week's blog to lay out an argument for this decision. The easiest way to explain this is to go through the pros and cons of each of the tunings above:

1) Open G (gDGBD)This is what most people think of as standard tuning for the 5 string banjo - eliminating it from my repertoire is therefore not something that I did lightly! There are certainly advantages of this tuning (listed below)

Pros of Open G:

it makes an open major triad (no need to hold down strings to make a good sound), which frees up your left hand in standard bum-ditty playing

you can easily switch between open G and open A (aEAC#E) with just a capo on the second fret

most G major tabs are written in this tuning

However, I didn't think it was the best-candidate for my "unified G" search for the following reasons (both of which are actually related to "Pros" above):

Cons of Open G

the major third of an open triad is the most-likely culprit for a banjo that sounds out of tune; if you use a tuning without a major third, this problem is greatly reduced!

I don't use a capo but rather "tune up" my banjo to A (and D); this is because most of my tunes are in A/D and I would be using a capo >80% of the time if I played this way...to me it seems silly to have to capo an instrument as the "default." When I "tune down" to Open G, every string is slackened, my neck goes a bit out of whack, and my tuning doesn't stabilize for several minutes.

2) "Sandy River Belle" tuning (gEADE)This is the name that Adam Hurt uses for this tuning. While I've certainly heard of other tunings named for a certain tune ("Dead man's tuning" "Cumberland Gap Tuning" "Last Chance tuning" "Birdie tuning") most tabs I've seen for "Sandy River Belle" are actually written in Open G. I've met Adam a couple of times and keep meaning to ask him why he calls this tuning "Sandy River Belle" tuning....but I digress.

Its an unusual tuning for a banjo in that it is not an "open tuning" for the key of G - you actually have to hold down several frets (3203 from low to high strings) to make a G chord. As a result - you end up playing out of this chord shape to play tunes in the bum-ditty style; this is somewhat akin to how Chet Atkins plays guitar. There certainly are some advantages:

Pros of "Sandy River Belle" tunings

You can easily get here from A/D tunings - its basically A modal with the 5th string tuned down to G. This certainly works with my "capo free" lifestyle : )

As a former guitarist, this tuning feels very familiar - the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings are one octave above the 6th, 5th, and 4th strings of a guitar, and the chord shapes (particularly the G shape) therefore feels quite familiar. Its easy to use this tuning to back a tune with chords while watching a guitarist at a jam.

The 1st string is one step higher than the 1st string of open G tuning, meaning that you don't have to go quite as far up the neck to get high notes in G tunes (in effect all high notes are moved down 2 frets). This one will keep coming up so I'll mark it with an asterix and refer back to it*

The fact that you have to hold down a chord the whole time could be seen as a con, but actually thats what I really like about this tuning - its fun to me that the approach to playing is so different than other tunings/keys. Honestly there is only one real drawback to this tuning as I see it:

Con of Sandy River Belle tuning:

Your lowest note is an E. Many G tunes (at least the way I play them) start on the low D note unavailable in this tuning ("Josio" "Sandy River Belle" "Indian Corn"...many, many more). Adam Hurt creates arrangements to get around this but I really miss this note when I don't have it.

I actually have a few tunes that I first learned in "Sandy River Belle" tuning that I may leave in this tuning because its just so fun to play in, but I haven't learned any new tunes here because I just miss the low D note so much.

3) Guitar G (gDGBE)I call this guitar G because the four long strings of the banjo are tuned like the top four strings of a guitar; its much like "Chicago tuning" (DGBE) sometimes used by tenor banjo players except with a 5th string added. I started using this tuning for a few tunes that went too far up the neck for my liking before I ever heard of Old G. Nobody introduced me to this tuning, it just seemed to make sense, though I highly doubt I'm the first banjo player to use it. Its like "Sandy River Belle" tuning in that its not an open tuning, but its a little less laborious in that you only have to hold down one fret (3rd fret on the 1st string) to make a G chord.

​Pro of Guitar G:

Bigger range available in first position (below fret 5) than either Open G or "Sandy River Belle" tuning. The low D (open 4th string) is available, and you can get up to A on the 1st string in 1st position (5th fret - this note would be on the 7th fret in Open G tuning). This is related to point 3 above*

Cons of Guitar G:

Major third tuning issues like Open G (in fact this is exacerbated by the 1st string tuned to E in my experience).

You are basically "tuning down" from A with the exception of the 1st string, though most of the same neck/tuning issues seem to apply

there are basically no tabs written in this tuning, though you should be able to get by pretty well by editing on Open G tab

4) Old G (gDGDE)

I first came across this tuning when I learned the mesmerizing Hobart Smith tune "Last Chance." Some people (and maybe Hobart) play this in gEGDE (the "Last Chance tuning" to which I referred above), but many others play it in gDGDE, which is commonly called Old G. To me, this tuning was the obvious choice for most of my old tunes and all of my new tunes for a variety of reasons.

Pros of Old G:

Same "increased range in first position" as that of Guitar G (above); the tuning goes from low D (open 4th string) to A in first position (5th fret on the 1st string). Notes normally "up the neck" are moved down 2 frets, much like pro bullet three for "Sandy River Belle" tuning*

No major 3rd to sound out of tune

Basically an open tuning; though its not a major triad, the "root, 5th, 6th" sound is pleasing to the ear without holding any frets down (in the same way that the "root, 2nd, 5th" diminished chord works well open for double C/D tuning). You can get a root-5th-only "power chord" by holding down the 3rd fret on the 1st string.

The tuning can be used for G major OR G minor tunes (also similar to double C/D) since it lacks a major third. I would have had to use "G modal" (gDGCD), which I didn't even list above (oh no, not another G tuning!), to play G minor tunes otherwise.

its easy to reach this tuning from double D (aDADE) by tuning down both A strings to G. This is way less "tension relief" on the neck than going down to Open G, and there is a much shorter "settling in" period.

Con of Old G

Theres no great way to play a C chord. I usually end up playing 2500 or 0520 (low to high string), both of which sound kinda jazzy. I haven't found this to be a big deal so far.

Overall, I've found that most of my formerly-Open-G tunes fall in Old G quite well. Furthermore, I've been working on expanding my G repertoire, and every new tune I've learned sits really great in this tuning! Overall its really neat to me that my G tunes sound fundamentally different from my A tunes because they're in Old G rather than the more-commonly used Open G tuning (i.e. my G tunes don't just sound like "de-capoed" A tunes). I'm not saying this is for everybody, but I do think that this sets my playing apart a bit, and (as usual!) I hope you got something out of reading this : )

Next week, I'll continue this discussion and try and post a few audio and/or video examples of playing in Old G.

I've been playing G tunes in this tuning since I learned "Sandy River Belle" in 1973, which at that time the tuning was named for this tune. I have nine tunes on BHO in the music section on my BHO home page. For D/G tunes, I generally play them out of aDADE and for G/C tunes, I generally use gEADE (e.g. Black Cat in a Brier Patch).

Reply

Jeff

9/8/2016 11:22:19 am

Hey Carl - nice to meet a kindred spirit! Feel free to put a link to your BHO homepage here if you like so that people can hear your playing! Also, check out my followup post to this one for a video and tab of "Temperance Reel" in old G:

Here's a link to my music files at Banjo Hangout
http://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/music.asp?id=24368

Reply

sean coxe

1/5/2017 11:44:38 am

"Old G" sounds like a versatile tuning for fretless work.

Reply

Jeff

1/5/2017 01:47:07 pm

Hey Sean - indeed Old G is just fantastic for fretless playing! Couple of examples:

Me playing "Big Scioty" in Old G (...tuned down to F...) on a Fretless tradesman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTEEv8dNJwo

Also, here's me playing "Josio" on my funky little Buckbee fretless:

https://soundcloud.com/user-167784217/josio-88465-229112562016

(sorry I couldn't put live links in a comment)

Thanks so much for reading!

Reply

Cliff Swanson

1/26/2017 09:05:34 am

I play Ramblin' Hobo and Arnie Naiman's Last Days of Autumn in this tuning. I actually prefer fCFCD, which is pretty rich sounding but seems to carry the drawback that the lax sting tension makes intonation a bit tricky (at least on my banjo and especially on the 3rd string when playing the 4th fret A. I know chordal 3rds are ambiguous but I really have to be aware when fretting that note lest that inversion of F major is pretty wacked out!). I've been improvising/noodling a lot in fCFCD recently and really like it.

Reply

Jeff N

1/26/2017 11:22:25 am

Hey Cliff - good to hear from you again! I love the sound of fCFCD as well....but you're right that my strings get a bit floppy and intonation suffers. I did have to visit this tuning for playing "F major" tunes with a fiddler at a square-dance however; if you haven't already, check out that post (which includes audio of the F tune "Lover's first quarrel" played in fCFCD) if you get a chance:

The banjo I played for F tunes was one that I borrowed, which was set up with much heavier strings than I normally use - it sounded great!

Fretted or not, I try to avoid 3rds across the spectrum these days; If I've got to play that note, I try to play it alone if possible...as much as I love the banjo, it definitely amplifies the problems with equal temperament that may be a bit more forgiving on other instruments; we probably never should have fretted these things in the first place : )

Thanks for reading!

PS - LOVE Arnie Naiman's playing!

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I have lots of ideas about banjo playing and music in general - this blog allows me to get them all out of my head and see what you think.